CARDIFF - Sat 28th May 2011

The tanker Bro Developer arrived from Milford Haven on 27th and returned there on 28th

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
FEHN MIRAGE                   Gibraltar           2002         2974dwt       89           11

Fehn Mirage

Fehn Mirage had arrived on 25th From Eregli, she berthed in the Queen Alexandra dock so don't know what the cargo was.  Sailed on 28th bound for Warrenpoint.  She sailed earlier than advertised and I arrived later than planned, so only managed one photo of her rapidly disappearing down channel.
I caught up with Fehn Mirage about a week later, when she was anchored in Mounts Bay, Cornwall and got this better picture:

Fehn Mirage

HNLMS BRUINVIS          Netherlands       1992           2800disp        68         8

Bruinvis

The Dutch Walrus Class submarine Bruinvis (S810) arrived on the 27th.  Berthed on Kings Wharf in the Queen Alexandra Dock - not the usual berth used by visiting Naval Ships.  Bruinvis is Dutch for Harbour Porpoise.


HNLMS MERCUUR          Netherlands      1987            1400disp        65

Mercuur

 Mercuur (A900)arrived from Plymouth on 27th, she is a Dutch Naval Support and Torpedo Recovery Ship - also berthed on the Kings Wharf.

CARDIFF - Wed 25th May 2011

The coaster Maple arrived from Antwerp with a cargo of timber on 23rd - she berthed in the Queen Alexandra Dock. I missed her arriving and sailing so no photo.  Maple sails, bound for Cork, on 25th.
Two arrivals on the 24th.............

CLAVIGO			IMO:	9014688
Year	1992	Flag:	Antigua & Barbuda
Gross	2,446	Deadweight	3,735
Length:	87.9	Beam	12.9	Draught:	5.5

Arrived from Inverkeithing, discharging scrap metal on Ryans Wharf.

Pictured after another visit to Cardiff December 2014

MEG			IMO:	9066057
Year	1993	Flag:	Panama
Gross	1,596	Deadweight	2,300
Length:	81.4	Beam	11.5	Draught:	4.2

Also discharging scrap metal on Ryans Wharf is Meg, she'd arrived from Wisbech.

CARDIFF - Sun 22nd May 2011

The tanker Bro Designer arrived from Milford Haven on 22nd and returned there on 23rd.

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
BLUE LOTUS                     Antigua            2009           6050dwt        114       15

Blue Lotus and Welsh Piper

Blue Lotus had arrived on 20th from Waterford with a (part?) cargo of packaged timber (judging by the slings suspended from the crane and the timber on the wharf).  The west berth is not used very often - I've only seen 2 ships use it in the past 2 years.  She was due to sail for Vasteras (Sweden) at 1930 on 22nd, 2000 arrived and no signs of any activity and getting dark, so I took this photo, minutes later and it started to rain heavily and Blue Lotus disappeared into the mist and gloom - she eventually sailed in the early hours of the 25th.
In the background can be seen the sand dredger Welsh Piper.
UPDATE - a better picture below, taken on May 31st 2012, when she was passing Lavernock Point on passage from Newport to El Ferrol

Blue Lotus off Lavernock Point - May 31 2012

CARDIFF - Sat 21st May 2011

No new ships in since the last post, but a few movements:-
The tanker Bro Designer arrived from Milford Haven on 16th and sailed back there on 17th.
Coaster Berthold K arrived from Belfast on 17th and sailed for Plymouth on 19th.
Coastal container ship Soul Sound arrived from Warrenpoint on 17th, sailed on 18th, arrived again on 20th and sailed on 21st.
Container ship Charlotte Borchard arrived from Leixoes on 19th and sailed for Liverpool on 20th
20th saw the arrival from Brest and Cherbourg of two French Naval Ships...........

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
FNS CEPHEE                       France              1980's      600disp       52           9
FNS SAGITTAIRE                France               1980's      600disp      52           9

M652 Cephee

M650 Sagittaire

Seen berthed on the Britannia Quay in Cardiffs Roath Basin, two French Eridan Class minehunters.  Cephee (M652) and Sagittaire (M650) on a courtesy visit to the city.  45 ships of this class were built between 1981 and 1989 in a joint venture between Belgium, France and The Netherlands.


HOLSTENTOR                   Antigua             1989         3393              87            13

Holstentor

Discharging scrap metal on Ryans Wharf in the Roath Dock, she had also arrived on 20th from Kings Lynn.  She is due to sail on 22nd bound for.......... UPDATE:  below, another photo of her taken in July 2011

Holstentor, Blue Anchor Bay, Bristol Channel 13 July 2011

HMS EXPLOIT                   UK                  1988         49disp            21            6

Exploit

Arrived back this week after a few months away, on her usual berth in Penarth Marina is the Archer Class patrol boat Exploit.  She is used as a training vessel, attached to Birmingham University Royal Naval Unit - she provides training to undergraduate students and normally has a crew of 5 plus up to 12 students.

CARDIFF - Sun 15th May 2011

There have been a number of movements since the last post:
On the 10th Marida Marigold sailed for Finart (Scotland)
On the 11th the tugs Dalegarth (no picture) and Portgarth arrived at 2300hrs to assist with the departure of Behcet C which was sailing for Turkey, as soon as the tugs had let go, they headed back to Swansea.
On the 12th the coaster Helsinki arrived from Gdansk with a load of scrap metal which she discharged at Ryans Wharf.  The container ship Rachel Borchard arrived from Leixoes and sailed for Liverpool
On the 13th  coastal container ship Soul Sound came in from Warren Point and sailed back on 14th.  Also on 14th Helsinki sailed in ballast bound for Passage West (Cork) and Dinteldijk sailed in ballast for Portbury.


Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
CLARE CHRISTINE           Antigua              2009         3850dwt      89          13

Clare Christine

Arriving from La Corunna with a cargo of ? she will discharge at Ryans Wharf in the Roath Dock.


AASLI                                 Gibraltar             1994         6630dwt      101          16

Aasli

Seen here arriving from Belfast with a cargo of stone (aggregate) she will discharge at the pontoon berth which is  adjacent to the Amey Roadstone (ARC) sand dredger berth in the Roath Dock - she is due to sail on the next tide - fast work for a self discharger if she can shift 6000 tons in 12 hours!

CARDIFF - Wed 20th Apr 2011

Since the last post we've had the regular visitors - Soul Sound, Arco  Dart and Welsh Piper.  On 18th the tanker Bro Designer arrived from Milford Haven and returned there on 19th.

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
OCEAN NOVA                    Bahamas           1982        2118gt          73         11

Ocean Nova

The small (73 passenger) expedition cruise ship Ocean Nova had arrived from Dartmouth on the morning tide. After a stay of about 10 hours, she sailed for Waterford.  The photo was taken at her last visit 12 months ago.

CARDIFF - Mon 9th May 2011

The small expedition cruise ship Ocean Nova arrived from Fishguard early this morning, she sails tonight bound for The Isles Of Scilly.  On the same tide saw the arrival of.....................

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
MARIDA MARIGOLD       Marshall Is           2009        13133          129         20

Marida Marigold

Arriving from Fos (Marseille, France) to discharge a part cargo of (probably, some sort of) liquid chemical. She was being assisted by the tugs HT Cutlass and Yewgarth.

YEWGARTH                        UK                1985            452gt            37            11

Yewgarth

The Swansea based Yewgarth came to Cardiff just to assist with the berthing of Marida Marigold.  Once the job was finished she went straight back to Swansea.  Much bigger than the local tugs she and the other Swansea based tugs are normally employed berthing the very large bulk carriers  at Port Talbot.

CARDIFF Sun 8th May 2011

Another arrival, plus a tug that we don't normally see on this side of the Bristol Channel took the number of vessels in Cardiff today to 9 - probably the highest number for a couple of years.  There were the 3 tugs - HT Cutlass, HT Scimitar and Portgarth (see below) 2 sand dredgers - Arco Dart and Welsh Piper, 3 coasters - Dinteldijk, Melas and Stadum and 1 bulk carrier - Behcet C (see below)

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
BEHCET C                         Panama            2009        22259dwt     149          24

Behcet C

The Turkish owned, Panamanian flagged Behcet C arrived from Ghent this morning. She is loading scrap at the EMR berth in the Roath Dock - 22,000 tons should make a bit of  dent in that mountain of scrap.  Interestingly, on the other side of the dock the coaster Stadum is unloading scrap that she had loaded in Kings Lynn.  The price of scrap is high at the moment, there must be a lot wheeling and dealing amongst the dealers, moving the stuff around the country to get the best price.  Or, a dealer maybe has to 'buy in' in order to fulfil a contract.  Scrap is often loaded here and taken to Liverpool!


PORTGARTH                       UK                1995         262gt             31              10

Portgarth

Usually based at Royal Portbury, Portgarth arrived from Swansea this morning to assist with the berthing on Behcet C.  She is seen here departing on the evening tide bound for Portbury.

CARDIFF - Fri 6th May 2011

Since the last post it's been fairly quiet in the way of new ships.  We've had the regulars calling, the following came in on the 30th April - the tanker Bro Designer from Milford Haven and sailed on 1st May - the coastal container ship Soul Sound from Warrenpoint, she sailed on 4th, and sand dredger Welsh Piper came in for a few days layover - also sailing on the 4th.
Later on the 4th May the coaster Jan V arrived from Liverpool and loaded a cargo of steel for Belfast - sailing on the 5th - I missed her, so no photograph.
Also on the 5th, Bro Designer arrived again, the container ship Sara Borchard came in from Leixoes and the coaster Hanoi arrived - all sailed on 6th.
Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
HANOI                              Gibraltar             2009         2625dwt       88            11

Hanoi

She had arrived from Spain (or Casablanca - two differing sources of information) not sure what the cargo was.  She is seen leaving in ballast on the 6th bound for Fowey.  Not very good pictures - 1900hrs - very overcast and getting dark.

DINTELDIJK                     Netherlands       2007         4450dwt         90          14

Dinteldijk

Seen here arriving from Eregli (Turkey) probably with a cargo of steel products.

MELAS                              Liberia             2001         3675dwt          88         13

Melas

Another arrival on the same tide - Melas coming in from Waterford to load (don't know what) for Porto Vesme in Italy

BARRY - Thurs 28th Apr 2011

Since the last post for Barry - on 13th March - just 2 ships have called in before today:- on 7th April, Stolt Razorbill arrived from Birkenhead and sailed for Rotterdam the same day. On 13th April, Eships Quest arrived from Norway and sailed back there on 14th.

Name                                   Flag                 Year      Tonnage       LOA       Beam
SORMOVSKIY-3057           Russia             1987       3134dwt        119           13

Sormovskiy-3057

Seen here discharging her cargo of packaged timber, that had been loaded and brought from Riga.  She had arrived on 26th and is due to sail for Rotterdam on 30th April.